This invention relates to transmission by broadcast media including radio and television broadcasting programs to listeners and viewers of the programs and, more particularly, to the transmission of signals designating questions or tasks and response criteria for evaluating responses of the listeners and viewers to the broadcast programs.
A common form of program transmitted by the broadcast media is the quiz program. Typically, in such a program, a panel of people provide answers to questions arising from the subject matter of the quiz. Often, the answers are indicated by use of a keyboard with electronic circuitry. The answers may be provided in response to questions which are asked directly, or in response to a situation or task presented by the program such as in the solving of a puzzle.
A characteristic of such quiz programs is the fact that the responses to the questions are limited to participants in the studio audience. The much larger external audience, namely the listeners of radio and viewers of television, are generally excluded from participation except for those few people who, on occasion, may have the opportunity to call in a response via telephone to a situation arising in the program. Letter writing has also been employed as a means for response to questions and other matters raised by the program.
Thus, it is apparent that a problem exists in that the larger external audience is essentially excluded from active participation in the broadcast programs. In view of the fact that the studio audiences can provide their responses electronically, it is clear that personal involvement, such as conversation among participants, is not necessarily required. It is, therefore, apparent that such programs should be open to participation to the larger external audience in addition to the studio audience; yet, no system providing for such participation has been available.
It is noted that this problem is not limited to quiz programs only, but that other forms of programs including educational and sports programs might also be conducted in a fashion allowing active public participation if a suitable system were available to make such public participation possible. A desirable feature of such a system would be the capability for evaluating and recording the responses, a feature that would be most useful in the case of educational programs because such a feature would permit a teacher to grade examinations dispensed to students by the broadcast media. Such a system would be useful in commercial ventures wherein a prize is to be given to a participant providing a correct answer. In such a case, the participant would bring the recorded answer, which might be in the form of a coded credit card, to a store or other establishment for receipt of the prize. This would be a great convenience in the implementation of a sales and advertising program. However, in spite of the advantages which would be provided by such a system, for including the listening and viewing audience, no such system has yet been available.